WEEKLY BIRD REPORT FROM PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AND THE QUINTE AREA FOR THE WEEK ENDING Thursday, March 06, 2008
There may be 1,000 TUNDRA SWANS at Long Point in Lake Erie, and KILLDEERS and 40 GREAT BLUE HERONS in the Windsor area right now, but it's still primarily grosbeaks, redpolls and waxwings in the Quinte area. Winter is just not letting up this month with the promise of even more snow in the days ahead. Even for a winter enthusiast like myself, I am ready for swallows flitting around the nest boxes and woodcock nuptials. However, the one positive sign that spring is on its way was the overnight appearance of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at numerous locations. A sprinkling at my feeders this morning soon expanded into over 20 by late afternoon, and similar reports came in from seven other locations in the county. Small groups of AMERICAN ROBINS have also been noted, but these could still be representatives from local wintering populations. BARRED OWLS in the area are almost "dirt birds" now as reports of them showing up in both rural and urban backyards continue. There is still one along Mitchells Crossroad where one has been hunting rabbits since early winter, and one showed up on Saturday at Point Traverse. There was another at a Bradley Crossroad backyard at Lake on the Mountain on Sunday. An adult BALD EAGLE on Sunday flew from the shoreline of Prince Edward Point and landed on the ice between there and Timber Island, a former nesting site for this species prior to the 1950s. Three (2 adults and one immature) were seen Sunday soaring over the junction of Rock Crossroad and County Road 7. Both COOPER'S HAWKS and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS are still regulars at many feeding stations across the region, and one feeding area east of Lake on the Mountain had both species as well as a RED-TAILED HAWK surveying the backyard for a quick meal. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS took a back seat to other winter sightings for a few weeks, but seem to have returned for an encore. East of Wellington on February 29th, there was a flock of fully 300 birds, and 50 were seen March 1st along Point Petre Road between Simpson Road and Army Reserve Road. PINE GROSBEAKS are also back for a return engagement. Seven were seen during the week on the east side of Trenton, another 13 turned up in Trenton near the former Lower Trent Conservation office, and yet another one in the Barry Heights area of the same town, and eight were noted in Belleville. A lone PINE SISKIN showed up with a flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES on the 2nd east of Lake on the Mountain, and small flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS made a brief visit to a feeder along Vanderwater Road at Thomasburg during the week. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES are still being reported, the most recent being at a feeder along Harmony Road in Thurlow north of Belleville where two have been for much of the winter. A NORTHERN SHRIKE on Huyck's Point Road on the 1st, and at least three LAPLAND LONGSPURS seen feeding in company with SNOW BUNTINGS, HORNED LARKS and CANADA GEESE in a corn field on Huyck's Point Road are all reminders that winter is not quite through with us yet. COMMON RAVENS (2) were seen again at Cape Vesey flying at tree top height, where they seem to be residents now as they have been present at this location for more than a year. A PILEATED WOODPECKER was seen along Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33) just west of Bloomfield, and two are still regulars in a backyard in Trenton. A NORTHERN FLICKER, first spotted at Point Petre on February 27th was still present there on the 29th. Waterfowl watchers are still hard pressed in Prince Edward County to find many convenient places to check out species and numbers. However, at Prince Edward Point, waterfowl numbers there are in the thousands with WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS making up about half the numbers that are in close enough to be identified. Present also are COMMON GOLDENEYE, LONG-TAILED DUCKS and GREATER SCAUP. Similar numbers are present in Prince Edward Bay off Cape Vesey where several thousand scaup were seen flying by one day. A favourite observation point along Lakeshore Lodge Road at Sandbanks is still disappointing and is solid pack ice as far as the eye can see. However, the Outlet River at Log Cabin Point offers a variety of waterfowl, depending on the day, it seems. Between 30 and 60 MUTE SWANS are often congregated here and this week the same four tagged TRUMPETER SWANS mentioned in last week's report, were still present, along with a sprinkling of CANADA GEESE and COMMON GOLDENEYE. This area bears watching as conditions will improve quickly when the headwaters here at East Lake begin to open. Access is via County Road 18, just east of the four-way stop at Sandbanks. Wellers Bay at Barcovan today had lots of scaup and MUTE SWANS, and the NORTHERN PINTAIL is still there. An interesting e-mail came in from Kitchener this week of five COMMON REDPOLLS that have turned up dead during the winter at one feeder. The resident is curious as to what might have caused the deaths of these birds which otherwise looked perfectly healthy. He is wondering if anyone else has noticed anything unusual about the redpoll population this winter, other than the fact they seem to be given to landing on your arms and head as feeders are being filled! And that's it for this week from Prince Edward County and the Quinte area. Our thanks to David Bree, Fred Chandler, Bon Betteley, John Charlton, Serge de Sousa, John Blaney, Pamela Stagg, Pamela Martin, Donna Fano, Ken & Shirley Joyce, Wayne McNulty, Kathleen Rankine, Janet Mooney, Fiona King, Jenny Goodall, Judy Kent, Margaret Kirk, Lyle Anderson and Marilyn Holland-Foster for their contributions to this week's report. This report will be updated on Thursday, March 13th, but sightings can be e-mailed any time before the 6:00 p.m. Thursday deadline. Featured photos in the online edition of the Quinte Area Bird Report this week include a CEDAR WAXWING and HORNED LARK. Photo on the Main Birding Page of the NatureStuiff website could be titled "Wishful Thinking" as it shows a SNOWY OWL which didn't appear in the county this winter that has been edited into a photo taken at Consecon's Stinson Block. All photos were taken by Susan Shipman of Wellington. Terry Sprague Prince Edward County [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.naturestuff.net _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. 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